155: Chapter 155 Cultural Invasion: When Indigenous Cultivators Learned "Team Up for Dungeons"

pangu-003, Twenty-Fifth Heavens · Great Zhou Imperial Capital (Mortal Habitation Layer).

The first ray of morning sunlight (projected by the holographic sky screen of the Thirty-Third Heavens) spilled onto the glazed tiles of the Imperial Capital.

If it were before, the Imperial Capital at this hour should have been solemn and majestic, with the patrolling Imperial Guards' armor clanging, and early rising merchants hawking their wares in low voices.

But today, the atmosphere had changed.

"Buying, buying! Buying mutated wild boar tusks at high prices! As many as you have! Anyone wanting to trade for the 'Qi Attraction Art' hurry up!"

"Teaming up to 'mine' in the Third Heavens! Need a tag-along! Looking for someone who follows orders!"

"Selling [Abyssal Roasted Tentacles]! Freshly baked! Eat it and gain Strength! If it doesn't taste good, it's free!"

The once most prosperous Vermilion Bird Grand Street of the Imperial Capital was now occupied by a group of * * 'Otherworlders' * * (Players) dressed in bizarre outfits (newbie cloth mixed with gear dropped by wild monsters).

They sat on the ground, with all sorts of stalls set up before them.

Some were selling screws stolen from the Scrap Iron Clan, while others were selling luminous moss pilfered from the Abyss.

And lingering around these stalls, surprisingly, were not just Players, but also a large number of local Cultivators and Mortals.

"Esteemed... Otherworlder Brother."

A Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator, wearing a cyan Daoist robe, squatted in front of a Player's stall, holding a black * * [Draft Fragment] * * (Garbled Block), his face full of curiosity.

"What kind of Magic Treasure is this object? Why, when this poor Daoist probes it with Divine Sense, do I hear the roar of 'breaking off the engagement'?"

The stall-tending Player, 'Shady Merchant 007,' chuckled, revealing a set of pearly white teeth: "Daoist Master has sharp eyes! This is a * * [Crystal of Resentment] * * brought out from the 'Ancient Ruins' (Draft Dungeon)!"

"Think about it, Master. This is a treasure condensed from thirty thousand years of resentment over a broken engagement! If used to refine a 'Heart Demon Pill' or a 'Curse Talisman,' its power... Tsk, tsk, tsk!"

"Only 50 Spirit Stones! No cheating the young or old!"

"Hiss—! Such a marvelous use?" The Foundation Establishment Cultivator's eyes lit up. "This poor Daoist is currently researching the 'Art of Cursed Killing'! I'll take it!"

The transaction was completed. The Player happily counted the Spirit Stones (recharge currency), and the Cultivator happily walked away clutching the garbled block (though he didn't know what use it had, it felt very powerful).

Scenes like this were visible everywhere in the Great Zhou Imperial Capital.

Cultivators who originally viewed Mortals as ants, now, when facing these 'undying and indestructible' 'Otherworlders' who always possessed strange gadgets, actually lowered their airs and began attempting to communicate, and even... do business.

...

The Great Zhou Imperial Palace, the Imperial Study Room.

The current Empress of Great Zhou (successor to Ling'er, and also Ling'er's Disciple), Ji Ruxue, was rubbing her temples while looking at the mountain of memorials piled on her desk.

The content of the memorials was largely the same, all concerning that group of 'Otherworlders from beyond the heavens.'

【Memorial from the Minister of Justice:】

"Your Majesty! Those Otherworlders are too lawless! Yesterday, a group of them, just to test 'fall damage,' collectively jumped off the city wall! They smashed themselves into bloody pulp, terrifying many common folk! Yet, after just a few breaths, their corpses dissolved into light and vanished, only to reappear the next day, jumping and dancing at the city gates!"

【Memorial from the Minister of Rites:】

"Your Majesty! The Otherworlders' language is vulgar and unbearable! They call everyone 'NPC' upon meeting them, and always ask, 'Do you have any quests?' Worse yet, some even ran to the entrance of the Harem and asked the guards, 'How do I raise the Empress's Favorability?' This is utter disrespect!"

【Memorial from the Minister of Works:】

"Your Majesty... um... can you please ask the Old Ancestor (Li Mo) to send more Otherworlders? They work incredibly fast! The moat that originally required three years to dig, they finished in one night for what they call 'Daily Quest Rewards!' And they don't even require wages, just some 'Prestige Points' (verbal praise) will suffice!"

Ji Ruxue: "..."

She sighed and looked at the State Preceptor of Great Zhou (an aged, transformed fox) sitting leisurely beside her, sipping tea.

"State Preceptor, what do you think?"

The State Preceptor stroked his beard, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes. "Your Majesty, this is an era of great contention."

"Since the Old Ancestor summoned these 'Undying Calamities,' there must be a deeper meaning."

"This subject has observed for several days and found that although these Otherworlders act wildly, they place great importance on promises (referring to quests)."

"As long as the 'Quests' we issue have sufficiently tempting rewards, they are the sharpest sword of Great Zhou, and also the cheapest labor."

"Furthermore..." The State Preceptor lowered his voice, "This subject has discovered that quite a few Sect Disciples are already beginning to be 'assimilated' by the Otherworlders."

"Yesterday, this subject personally witnessed the Chief Disciple of the Heavenly River Sword Sect mixing with a group of Otherworlders, shouting things like 'pulling aggro,' 'crowd control,' and 'focus fire'... Apparently, they were hunting a Golden Core Yao Beast."

"As a result, that Yao Beast, which originally required a Nascent Soul Stage expert to deal with, was actually ground down to death by this 'mixed formation' of Foundation Establishment Cultivators!"

Ji Ruxue's beautiful eyes widened. "This... is this the 'Fourth Calamity' tactic the Old Ancestor mentioned?"

...

Thirty-Third Heavens · Tianhe Academy.

Li Mo was checking the * * [World Origin Completion Progress] * * . After days of frantic 'trash collecting' by the Players, the progress bar had increased from 0.1% to 1.5%.

Although it didn't seem like much, these Origins were all 'Rule Fragments' refined from discarded draft worlds, possessing extremely high quality.

"Dean, there's a new situation." T-9's figure was projected onto the light screen.

"We discovered a massive unstable spatial bubble in a fold seam in the Fourth Heavens."

"Its energy level reaction is extremely high. Preliminary judgment... it's a draft fragment of a * * [Mary Sue Overbearing CEO World] * * ."

"The logic virus inside is spreading and has begun to affect the surrounding Physics Laws—nearby stones have all turned into pink hearts."

"Mary Sue?" Li Mo's mouth twitched.

The logic of such worlds was the hardest to handle. This was because their core rules usually revolved around 'the entire world revolves around the protagonist' and 'unreasonable love and hate.'

If not cleaned up promptly, this kind of intellect-reducing halo might pollute the natives of the pangu-003.

"Release a new dungeon," Li Mo picked up the * * [spring and autumn brush] * * and skillfully wrote the quest code.

"Adjust the difficulty of this quest a bit higher."

"Dungeon Name: [The Overbearing CEO's Runaway Beloved Wife (Collapsed Version)]."

"Clear Condition: Physically interrupt all melodramatic plots."

"Reward: [Charm Resistance] passive skill book, and... a set of pink fashion attire (likely to be liked by female Players)."

...

Fourth Heavens · Dungeon Entrance.

As the server-wide announcement popped up, the Players who had just been setting up stalls in the Imperial Capital instantly packed up and surged toward the Fourth Heavens like a tide.

"New dungeon! Charge!"

"Mary Sue? Overbearing CEO? Hahahaha! That's the kind of plot I hate the most!"

"Brothers! No bricks this time! Bring suonas! We're going to play the 'Grand Funeral March' for the Overbearing CEO!"

Inside the Dungeon.

This was an extremely luxurious, yet eerily strange modern city (due to it being a draft, the style looked somewhat like a PPT with texture errors).

The sky was pink, and the clouds were shaped like 'I Love You.'

A nauseating perfume filled the air.

【Plot Loading...】

【Scene One: The Rainbow-Haired Overbearing CEO is wall-slamming the Heroine.】

In the center of the plaza, a man whose hair shimmered like a rainbow (actual RGB lighting effect) and whose chin was sharp enough to stab people, was pressing a woman whose eye took up half her face against a wall.

"Woman, you are playing with fire."

The man's voice had automatic reverb, and rose petals even automatically drifted around him (even though they were indoors).

"The entire world knows I've claimed this fish pond."

The newly arrived Players collectively shuddered.

"Ugh... the scent is too strong!"

"My SAN value is dropping rapidly! Is this a mental attack?"

"That chin is a weapon, right? Definitely a weapon!"

"Stop the nonsense! Attack!" The Player with the ID 'Anti-Melodrama Expert' roared.

"You there! Play the suona!"

"Everyone else! Throw the dung!" (Don't ask where the dung came from; just know it was the masterpiece of a Life Player.)

Didi—dada didi—!!! The shrill sound of the suona instantly pierced the ambiguous BGM.

Immediately following, several buckets of 'organic fertilizer' emitting an indescribable odor were precisely splashed onto the Overbearing CEO's rainbow hair.

"Ah—!!!" The Overbearing CEO let out a pig-slaughtering scream.

"Unclean! This is unclean! My Charm Value is dropping! My Halo is shattering!"

【System Prompt: You have inflicted tons of mental damage on BOSS 'Nangong · RGB · Overlord'.】

【BOSS enters a Berserk State: Fish Pond Bombardment!】

"Woman! It's all your fault!" The crazed Overbearing CEO suddenly pulled out countless salted fish from his crotch (?) and threw them like grenades at the Players.

Every salted fish carried the mental control effect of * * [This Damned Sweetness] * * .

"Holy crap! Salted Fish Grenades?"

"Dodge quickly! Getting hit forces you into the 'Love Brain' state!"

One unfortunate Player who was struck suddenly dropped his weapon, cupped his hands over his heart, and shouted at the Overbearing CEO: "Oh! Young Master! You are finally smiling!"

Then he was kicked away by his teammate: "Wake up! That's a monster! Not the Young Master!"

Just as the situation became chaotic.

An Inner Sect Disciple of the Heavenly River Sword Sect (a native NPC) suddenly flew in on his sword.

He had originally followed the Players to 'leech experience,' but upon seeing this scene, his Dao Heart nearly shattered.

"This... is this the method of the Outer Realm Heavenly Demons?"

"How can they be so... so shameless?"

But he quickly realized that although the Players' tactics were dirty, they were effective.

Under the continuous sound of the suona and the attack of 'physical filth,' the seemingly invincible Overbearing CEO's halo was rapidly dimming.

"Fellow Daoist!" A Player thrust a bucket of fertilizer into the Sword Sect Disciple's hand.

"Don't just stand there! Splash him! This is the key to breaking his defense!"

The Sword Sect Disciple looked at the bucket in his hand, then looked at the monster still throwing salted fish.

His pristine Sword Heart experienced a subtle deviation at this moment.

"Forget it! To exterminate demons and defend the Dao, one should not be constrained by minor details!" The Sword Sect Disciple took a deep breath, mobilized all his Spiritual Qi, and transformed that bucket of fertilizer into a rain of flowers (shit rain), splashing it toward the Overbearing CEO.

"Tianhe Sword Art · Muddy Current!"

Splash—!

The Overbearing CEO was completely submerged.

【BOSS has been slain.】

【World is collapsing...】

Watching the Overbearing CEO dissolve into data streams, the Sword Sect Disciple wiped the sweat from his forehead and actually felt a trace of unprecedented... relief.

"So... Cultivation can be practiced like this?"

He looked at the Players around him, who were cheering and slapping each other's backs, a hint of enlightenment flashing in his eyes.

"Perhaps... this is true 'carefree wandering'?"

...

pangu-003, Command Room.

【Discarded Draft World Fragment Recovered × 1.】

【pangu-003 Worldview Completion Progress: + 0.3%.】

Li Mo looked at the Sword Sect Disciple, who was already starting to call the Players brothers, and shook his head helplessly.

"It's over."

"The style of the Cultivation World... is completely unsalvageable."

"However..." He looked at the mental state cultivation the Sword Sect Disciple had just achieved in the backend data.

"Breaking the conventional leads to new creation. Perhaps these lunatics can truly bring a brand new path to this stagnant Cultivation World."

Just then, T-9 sent another alarm.

"Dean! The Fifth Heavens... The Fifth Heavens exploded!"

"What happened?"

"A Player... A Player picked up a nuclear warhead while clearing the 'Doomsday Wasteland Dungeon.'"

"And then... he detonated it in a crowd to test for 'friendly fire.'"

Li Mo: "..."

He took a deep breath and picked up the * * [spring and autumn brush] * * .

"It seems that just an anti-addiction System is not enough."

"I need to add a 'Red Name System' for these guys..."

【Server-Wide Announcement: Given that the behavior of some Players is excessively anti-human.】

【New Rule Added: Malicious PK or detonating nuclear bombs in the lobby will result in a 'Red Name' status.】

【Punishment: Red-named Players will be forcibly teleported to 'General Gu's Scrubbing Parlor' to serve as professional bath attendants until their sin value is cleared.】

【Note: General Gu has been feeling itchy lately, so his scrubbing might be a bit heavy.】

As soon as the announcement was made.

The entire server wailed.

But Li Mo knew that the wails of these Players often meant... they were having even more fun.